Grace E.

Welcome! I’m so excited to share my experience with you! Before joining the Fred Hutch Explorers Program, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what working in science looked like. I imagined scientists spending all day in a lab doing experiments (and there is some truth to that!), but I quickly realized that there is so much more to research than I expected. Of course, I learned to pipette, use real lab equipment, and see what an actual research lab looks like. To my surprise, though, I also learned that scientists can have many different roles! I now know that some people spend most of their time at the bench running experiments, while others are principal investigators (PIs), who lead research teams and write grants. One of the things that surprised me most was that Fred Hutch even has an entire glassware team. Every day, three people are responsible for washing and organizing the glassware used in all of Fred Hutch’s buildings. Previously, I had never thought about all the people who help make scientific research possible behind the scenes, and now I can’t forget it! It might seem like a small detail, but it really broadened how I think about research. Every experiment depends on clean, organized equipment, and without the people taking care of it, scientists couldn’t do their work as efficiently. The glassware team opened my eyes to the fact that every role at Fred Hutch (and in the world) contributes to discoveries, even if they aren’t always visible.

Definitely not what I expected to be fascinated by… but here we are!

One of my favorite parts of the program was hearing from Dr. Raabya Rossenkhan. She was so kind and open about her own journey into science. Instead of making it seem like successful scientists always have everything figured out, she talked about how it’s completely okay to not know exactly what you want your career to look like. That really stuck with me because, as a rising high school junior, it can feel like everyone expects me to already have my career planned to a "T". Hearing someone who has built such an amazing career say it’s okay to change directions and keep learning made me feel a lot less stressed about figuring everything out right now.

Dr. Rossenkhan (along with the many other guest speakers, TAs, and faculty and staff who graciously shared their wisdom and knowledge with us) reminded me that scientists have different interests, experiences, and specialities. It was incredibly cool to learn about the different specialities in research, from wet and dry labs to so many other areas; I really appreciated diving into their work! All these scientists’ stories helped me realize how creative and collaborative the scientific community is.

I loved getting to learn alongside such an amazing group of people!

Needless to say, I’ve learned so much and had an incredible time throughout this program. I’ll be leaving Explorers with a much better understanding of what research and other science-related jobs look like. It was truly an unforgettable experience, and I would recommend it to any high school student who’s interested in science or wants to learn more about STEM careers!